


Titanfall: Freelance

by TitanfallCool



Category: Titanfall (Video Games)
Genre: May turn into a porn later, References galore, Violence, does that even count, yey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2020-12-31 20:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21152075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanfallCool/pseuds/TitanfallCool
Summary: The 6-4 was his family, and by God if he wasn’t ready to work with them again...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Moving my work over here as well as FanFiction.Net. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Lot of movie references in the notes

Ethan entered the hangar and headed towards the drop ship. It had been years since he’d last worked with the 6-4. He arrived and saw multiple pilots, among them were Gates, Droz, Davis, and Bear. Davis yelled “Yo E, long time no see!” He replied “Nice to see you to Davis, how ya been?” Davis put his arm around his shoulder and said “Probably better than you.” Droz pulled Davis back and said “We’ll, you’ve changed.” He actually had, the last time he had seen them he had a 6-4 colored uniform and helmet, now his uniform had been painted black as was his helmet. He nodded and said “We’ll, change is good, at least I tried something new, you haven’t changed one bit.” Droz chuckled to himself “Well I see you still have your sense of humor.”Bear walked over to the pilots and said“Gates is ready for the mission briefing” “Nice to see you too.”Ethan muttered and walked over to where the pilots where gathering. He saw the holotable where everyone was gathering and jogged over. “Okay listen up!” yelled Gates. “Our job is to take out defenses along the Trebuchet line the IMC has built along this area.” She pointed to a position on the map the holotable was displaying. “We will have 10 teams, 5 pilots each.” she continued. She gestured at 10 red dots that appeared on the Trebuchet line “Each team will have a designated target, once the defenses are down, we will rendezvous at this location and set up a camp.” She finished by saying “This operation is crucial to the success of our securing of this area, if we fail, we will be completely stopped in our tracks halting the advance. Don’t let this happen, we deploy in 1200 hours.” Most pilots left to enjoy their free time before the operation leaving only the 6-4 members and Ethan. Davis went up to Gates and whispered something into her ear. She perked up and whispered back. Davis pointed at Ethan and Gates ran over. “Hey, it’s been a while.” she said. He replied “Too long, too long.” She punched his shoulder and said “Why’d you change your uniform?” He countered “Why wouldn’t I? I wasn’t in the 6-4 anymore, and my jobs weren’t exactly made for flashy and colorful clothing.” Gates suddenly hugged him and whispered in his ear “Glad to have you back, E.” She walked away and sent a message to his datapad reading: Meet me in the cafeteria for lunch later. He smiled to himself and left the hangar to his quarters. On his bench laid his data-knife that he had been modifying, he was able to get the hack time down to 3 seconds and take over any specters in a 10 meter radius. He checked the time, 10:00. Lunch was served at 11:00-12:00. He suddenly felt dizzy and realized he hadn’t slept very much since he had arrived a few days back. He had been too busy with modifying his titan and data-knife. He decided to take a quip nap and head to lunch at 11:30. He took off most of his gear and drifted to sleep.

He woke up at 11:30 to his alarm. He felt refreshed and ready to go. He made his way to the cafeteria and saw Gates waiting for him. He grabbed a lunch tray and sat down. She said “You’re late.” He replied “You didn’t really specify a time ma’am.” She took a bite of her food. She said “You don’t have to call me ma’am you know.” He pokes his food and replied “It’s almost automatic now, all those years under you I guess.” She took his pudding cup and asked “Can you be one of the squad leaders?” He leaned back and said “I guess I could, just this once.” She smiled and stood up “I’ll catch you later.” Ethan watched her return her tray and walk away. He finished up and went to a sim-pod training room. He put in the usual simulation, he would start by himself and make his way through grunts and pilots. Then he would call in his titan and fight through enemy titans, Militia and IMC alike. He booted up the sim pod and went into the simulation. “Welcome back pilot, the simulation has been prepared.” He picked up his fqvorite gun, the alternator and said “Thanks Doc, you ready?” He felt Doc in his head “Affirmative.” He was placed in and saw a grunt squad. He ran at them shooting 3 of them while killing another 2 with a knife. He grappled ahead and killed another squad with a frag grenade. He saw a squad of specters and grunts moving up. They took cover and opened fire on him. He deployed a decoy and cloaked, flanking the enemies. He hacked most of the specters and let them kill the remaining grunts. He went through more squads until finally he reached the stage where he could deploy Doc. He deployed him and he heard the familiar sound of a titanfall. Doc landed crushing a titan under him. Ethan got in the cockpit and opened fire on enemy titans. He took all of them out with ease as usual. “Good work pilot, you were .02 seconds faster than last time.” He exited the simulation and said “Well, it’s something.” He walked back to his quarters and took a shower. He got out and checked the time. Only 9:00 hours left until they deploy. He decided to sleep again as he figured he most likely wouldn’t be able to for awhile.

When he woke up he saw a new message on his datapad. It said: Meet me at the hangar to meet your squad-Gates. He threw on his gear and ran down to the hangar. Gates yelled “E, over here!” He went over and saw 4 other pilots. They introduced themselves as Annie, Ryan, Alex, and “Juno”. They did a few exercises and were prepped for the mission. When they finished, they only had 1 hour until deployment. He used that hour to prep his gear and titan. He finished up and was heading back to the hangar when he heard: All pilots participating in operation DLTA (destroy line Trebuchet assault) please report to the hangar immediately. He went to the hangar and met up with his squad. Their drop ship was Turkey-3. He heard Gates say over the comms “Mic check all squads report in.” He then heard “Alpha team, ready. Bravo team, ready. His team was labeled Charlie he activated his voice coder and said Charlie team, ready. All the other teams reported in. Gates the said “All teams have reported in, operation DLTA is a go. All teams board dropships.” Ethan sighed, he had a bad feeling but couldn’t figure out why. Shrugging it off he climbed into the drop ship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMG, MOUNTED AND LODAED!- Lord Tachank right before dumping a mag in a Monty in the corner.

The dropships remained at high altitudes above the clouds. The couldn’t risk being spotted so they chose a particularly cloudy night to fly in. Ethan had heard radio chatter and had realized they were hearing reports that enemy fighters in the area. He hoped they weren’t coming for them. He heard Gates tell him to switch to a private channel. He did so and said “Hey.” She replied “Something’s not right, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t supposed to be fighters flying around.” He responded “Plans are just a list of things that could go wrong.” She chuckled and muttered “I see you still make those bad jokes.” She then switched back to the regular channel, Ethan did as well. Suddenly he heard someone yell “Bogeys on Turkey-3’s 6!” The channel lit up with alerts and chatter. He heard machine guns firing on the drop ship and the pilot yell “Taking evasive action!” He felt the ship shake as the pilot swerved all around. Ryan yelled “What the hell? How did they find us? Annie yelled back “I don’t know, but shit’s gonna hit the fan unless we shake that fighter. Ethan felt a shake so violent it knocked him of his feet. He looked back and saw the fighter had destroyed the back door leaving it open as the dropship struggled to keep flying. Alex couldn’t hold on and was sucked out the back of the ship. The rest held on as tight as they could. Ethan heard the pilot yell”Were going down!” He felt the drop ship rapidly turn towards the ground. He yelled over the comms “This is Turkey-3 we’re going down, repeat going down!” He then heard “Mayday,mayday this is Turkey-7 we’re hit and goin down!” He heard Gates yell “Shit, all dropships try to take out hostile fighters!” Turkey-3 suddenly shook and Ethan closed his eyes. The pilot then yelled “I’m gonna try and steady her, the landing won’t be pretty either way!” Ethan shouted back “Try to make it so we live!” The pilot yelled “Brace positions!” Ethan looked up and saw wood shattering outside the window as the dropships slammed into trees. Suddenly Ethan felt an enormous jolt and then only darkness.

Ethan woke to find himself outside the flaming dropship. He ran and grabbed Annie and Ryan out of the cabin and dragged them into a nearby ditch. He couldn’t see Juno anywhere. He put his medical training to use and pulled out his medkit. He patched up the other pilots injuries, luckily nothing major. He checked the cockpit for the pilot but he was impaled by glass and wood, there was no way he survived. He went back to where he laid the others and sat down. They had been lucky the pilot was able to get the dropship into a controlled crash-landing. He tried the comms but to no avail. He heard another dropship and realized it was the IMC. Doc, since being uploaded to his helmet, warned him of the incoming danger. He heard him say “Multiple IMC grunt units moving to our location.” Ethan replied hastily “Yeah I know, get ready.” Ryan stirred a little and groaned. Ethan crouched down to him and said “Hey, stay low and rest all right? I got you, you’ll be ready to go in no time.” He injected him with a stim-healing serum he had made. He heard the grunts shout to each other, they were converging on their location. He had to think fast, Doc said “May I suggest a decoy to draw the enemies away? Their orders are to terminate any survivors, they will follow the decoy, any who stay you can kill.” Ethan replied “You know, that just might work. He sent his decoy away from the wreckage. He heard one shout “There! They’re trying to get away!” Ethan had Doc hack into their comms. He heard someone say “Zulu search the wreckage, everyone else kill that pilot.” Ryan woke up and asked “What happened?” Ethan looked at him and said “They shot us down, Doc diagnosis.” Doc scanned him and said “He has recovered well, only minor injuries remain.” Ethan asked him “Can you fight?” He got up and said “What else am I supposed to do, sit around and do nothing? Of course I can fight, sir.”Ethan nodded at the wreckage and whispered “There is a squad of grunts by the wreckage, we need to take them out.” He looked over the ditch wall and said “How should we do this?” Ethan said “I’ll take the left 2 you get the right.” Ryan nodded and started towards the grunts. Ethan took down the 2 with his silenced RE.45 and knife. Ryan took both of his targets out with his throwing knives. “Clear.” Ryan said checking the bodies. Ethan went back to Annie who was awake now. She groaned and said “I can’t feel my leg.” Ethan injected her with the serum and said you’ll be better in a few minutes. She got up soon after and said “Thanks, sir.” Ethan replied “No problem, let’s get away from the wreckage, we don’t want any unwanted attention.

They had walked towards the rendezvous point in hopes people would be there. They had no such luck and found the area empty. Ethan knew the situation was bad, they had no supplies or comms, no way to get back to friendly territory either. They then saw a droppod in the clearing. They opened it up and found supplies and tents. They decided to pitch the tents and use the supplies to survive until others arrived. Ryan even fashioned a small watchtower in the middle of the tents for whoever was on guard duty. They remained there for a week and still nobody came. They did however hear lots of gunfire and explosions in the direction of the Trebuchet line. Davis’s squad arrived first. Another pod was dropped for them. As Davis arrived he said to Ethan “Damn, you guys actually survived that crash? I knew you were tough but that takes the cake. He punched him and said “Glad you’re still breathin’.” Ethan responded “Likewise, any luck with the comms?” He replied “No, they have a jammer somewhere.” Ethan nodded and replied “Typical.” They decided the camp was more important so they both helped set up the camp. More squads arrived so that about 33 pilots were in it. Droz arrived with the remainder of Bear’s team. They had taken casualties attacking the Trebuchet line bringing the number up to 36. Ethan was exhausted after all this, he decided just to sleep for a while, but just in case, to sleep in his gear. He took off his helmet and laid down.

He awoke to an explosion. He jumped up and grabbed his helmet and put it on. Doc instantly said “Enemy titans and infantry closing in on the camp.” Ethan grabbed his gun and ran out. Most of the pilots were already attacking the titans. He ran over to Bear and asked “What’s happening?” Bear replied “They found our camp, they’re sending in a lot of forces.” Ethan grabbed an archer and said “I’m going to help take down the titans.” Bear nodded and responded “I’ll help with the East, you get the West, Droz and Davis have the North and South with their squads. Take yours with you, I’ll get some extra pilots for all sides.” Ethan ran to get his team. He retrieved them and they headed to the West to take on the enemy titans. He fired his archer at a tone while running straight at it. It turned around and faced him so he grappled onto it for a rodeo. He grabbed the battery and threw a grenade in the slot. He jumped off right before it exploded. Ryan and Annie has taken out the other titan. He heard more explosions and saw more titans drop. He moved to help take those down too. He heard more gunfire and explosions. He and his squad destroyed more titans. An ion spotted him and fires its laser shot at the pilot. He dodged this and fired his archer. The ion caught it with its vortex shield and sent it back. Ethan was able to rodeo the titan and destroy it. He saw a particularly eletric ronin running in along with 2 others. He fired his archer at the arc ronin but the rocket was blocked by its sword. Other pilots fired on the robins with his their anti-titan weaponary. The took down the arc ronin when the other 2 rushed the camp. He heard the sound of a nuke eject near the camp and realized they were trying to blow up the camp along with all the pilots. He ran as fast as he could away from the nuclear ronins. The exploded shaking the ground and trees around them. Ethan was knocked to his feet by this but got back up to see half the camp in shambles due to the explosions.They finally stopped coming after this, perhaps they thought they had done enough damage. Ethan heard someone yell over the comms “All hostiles eliminated.” He heard cheering and gunfire. He knew it had come at a cost though. Out of the 36 at the camp 13 had died leaving only 23 left. He heard Bear say to him “I would’ve thought Gates would be here by now, something’s wrong.” Suddenly his long range transmitter was working again. He heard a person saying “This is the Talos Prime does anyone read?” Ethan said back “This is Ethan, do you read?” Static, then “We read you, were sending reinforcements to your location, standby.” Ethan looked up and saw multiple droppods and titans drop. Help was finally on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Tis but a flesh wound.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a Knight of Nii! I demand...a shrubbery!

Ethan was back in the hangar of the Talos Prime. He got off the dropship he had ridden back. They had been evacuated from the camp as their mission was complete. The pilots were told to get some R and R. Ethan couldn’t do either, he looked at the MIA list and saw Gates on there. “She went missing?” he thought. Droz walked in and said “The Captain wants to see you, special mission he said.” Ethan looked up and replied “I’ll make my way there.” He got up and walked to the Captain’s room. “You wanted to see me, sir?” The Captain looked up and said “Yes, I have something to show you, pilot, sit please.” Ethan sat down and looked at the man. He was average among all the soldiers, nothing special. The Captain said “My name is DanForth, call me Dan pilot.” Ethan responded “If it’s alright with you, I’m just going to call you sir.” The DanForth sat back and said “We’ve got a fix on Gates’s position, she’s at an IMC prison facility on the other side of the line.” Ethan was taken aback by this, she had been captured, but how, she only had to take doll down some defenses. DanForth continued “She took it upon herself to destroy the jammer and get comms back up. She was surrounded after disabling the jammer and was taken to the prison facility.” Ethan said to him “How do you know this?” DanForth replied “I have an inside man, it’s how we knew where to take down the critical points on the Trebuchet line.” Ethan already knew this, there was no other way to get the information. He said “What am I supposed to do, sir, extract Gates?” He shook his head and replied “No, you need to find our inside man.” Ethan is was shocked “With all due respect sir, Gates is a top priority pilot, I could just infiltrate the facility and get her out.” DanForth stood up and said “It’s not that simple, they know Gates’s rescue is one of our top priorities, they’ll expect a pilot infiltration, what they won’t expect is a supposed transfer to a different facility by our operative who will bring her back. Unfortunately that operative has gone missing, you find him, you can help get her out, I sent the plans to him before he disappeared. Our last result will be to storm the base, I pray that doesn’t happen. You have 1200 hours to prepare. Good luck.” Ethan stood up, saluted, and walked out. DanForth was right, they would expect that, but the other option was still extremely dangerous. Too many things could go wrong. Ethan didn’t know why, but he felt obligated to find the operative and help him extract Gates from the facility. He took of his gear and put on an IMC uniform provided by DanForth. They had given him everything he needed to be an IMC officer. Even a little keycard with a fake name and age. He would go to Gates’s cell, bring her to the landing pad under “Colonel Jacobs” orders, Colonel Jacobs was the operative Frank Judia’s fake rank in the IMC. He had everything prepped and ready to go. It was time for the mission before he even knew it.

He was dropped off at the operative’s last known position. Ethan immediately saw a broken tracker in the mud. It was raining hard along with the frequent lightning strikes. He followed the footprints to a little shack in the woods. He heard a voice yell “Colonel Jacobs here, go away, I’m on leave until tomorrow. Ethan shouted back “Frank Judias, code Lima Carson!” He heard the man respond “Bean City.” The code checked out, Lima Bean and Carson City was the codes given to them to reveal who was the real operative. Frank yelled “Come on in, must be freezing out there!” Ethan complied and went inside. He looked around the little shack, it was surprisingly cozy and even had its own little fireplace and bed. Frank sat behind a desk full of papers with drawings on them. “I believe your here to help with the extraction.” Ethan nodded and replied “Yes, let’s go over the plan, shall we?” Frank nodded and said “We’ll return to the base with these papers.” He held up papers which authorized the move of Gates to a different facility, one she would never reach. “Once we get her on the dropship we head to the evac point where we’ll be picked up.” Ethan smiled and said “Good plan, lots of things can go wrong so be careful.” Frank nodded and said “We leave in 3 hours, be ready by then. Ethan put on his IMC style trench coat and gloves along with a helmet to hide his identity, he was a high priority target of the IMC’s after a raid on one of their science centers. He now had to be “Lieutenant Calssion” Colonel Jacobs’s assistant. Finally Frank asked “You ready to go?” Ethan nodded and they walked to the vehicle Frank had ditched, nearby his tracker. They climbed in and started off to the prison facility. Ethan inquired “Why did you remove your tracker?” Frank responded “The Militia was using it, they could’ve figured out I was a spy if they found a tracking device with me.” Ethan nodded and said “Agreed, how long is it to the place?” Frank replied “Not long, maybe an hour, but we have to stop at the checkpoint along the Trebuchet line.” Ethan laid back and waited for their arrival. He knew this was dangerous, but he had to do this, he didn’t know why, but he needed to rescue Gates.

After 30 minutes they pulled into the Trebuchet line checkpoint. An IMC guard greeted them. “Hello sir, back so soon?” Frank nodded and said “With all that’s been happening I believe I should be back at base.” The soldier looked over the transfer papers and questioned “Why are we moving the prisoner sir?” Frank pointed at the paper and said “They’ll probably figure out the prisoner is here, there would be no others reason for such high security in the area.” The soldier replied “Well, I guess you’re right, I’ll notify the base to be ready for a transfer.” The soldier opened the gate for them and waved them through. Frank drove the vehicle away from the Trebuchet line. They went up a hill and Frank pulled the car aside. He said to Ethan “One helluva job you people did, you destroyed all but 2 of the weak points I suggested. Ethan then told him how 2 of their dropships were shot down thus, the reason 2 of the points were still in working order. Frank got back on the road and made their way to the prison. By the time they got there the entire facility was abuzz. A team of grunts let him in as an officer known as “The Warden” strode up to the car. “Back already, Colonel?” Frank nodded and said “Not exactly the safest outside the line.” The warden nodded and said “I’ll have my men bring the prisoner.” Frank shook his head and replied “That won’t be necessary, my assistant here will fetch her himself.” The Warden stepped back and said “As you wish, sir.” Ethan stepped out of the car and looked around. The place was heavily defended, if an assault took place there would be massive casualties. A grunt waved him over to a door and brought him inside. He told him that Gates’s cell was down the hall and to the left, third cell down. Ethan thanked him and started down the hall. He stood outside Gates’s cell and sighed, this was the most dangerous part. He walked in and saw her, she was on the bed asleep. He heard The Warden over the PA say “I took the extra precaution of sedating her before your arrival, I’ll send someone to assist you.” The Warden then said to a nearby soldier “Send a squad to escort him to the landing pad, then detain him and Jacobs.” The grunt nodded and preceded to give the orders to the others. As the squad arrived Ethan cursed under his breath, this wasn’t going according to plan. He had the soldiers take Gates out of the bed and they started down the hall. She suddenly jolted awake and tried to break free. The soldiers restrained her as one of them said “What the hell? I thought she was sedated.” Another said “I guess not enough, let’s get he-.” Before he could finish, Ethan had shot all of them with his pistol. As they fell to the ground Gates said “Who are you, why did you kill them?” Ethan had forgotten he had a helmet that covered most of his face. He took it off and said “Gates, it’s me, E.” Her eyes widened as she smiled and whispered “A bit unconventional, but you never were for those sorts of plans I guess.” He smiled and helped her up. He pushed her out to the landing pad. There Frank and a squad of grunts along with The Warden were waiting. The Warden did a hand-motion. As he did this squads of soldiers swarmed the platform as The Warden said “You are all under arrest, put down your weapons.”Ethan immediately pointed his pistol at The Warden. Frank looked around as grunts pointed their weapons at him, Frank complied and put down his weapon. Ethan was hesitant and kept his weapon pointed at him. Gates whispered “E, you need to put it down, we can’t do anything about it and I can’t lose my best pilot to something like this. Please, Ethan.”Ethan glared at The Warden and finally lowered his gun. He was immediately tackled by grunts and put into cuffs as was Frank. Ethan was put in a cell with Gates as they waited to be interrogated. Frank was brought in first and when he came back he said “No...no...they...killed them, all of them, I thought they survived the crash.” He then grabbed Ethan and said “They tortured me, they’ll do that to both of you. Don’t let it get to you.” Ethan looked at the man, he was disheveled and about as pale as the IMC uniform he was wearing. He saw the guard enter and take Gates out of the room. Ethan sat on a chair rapidly tapping his foot, he was stressed, anxious, he was afraid of what might happen in there. Another soldier entered the room and took Ethan out. The guard escorted him to the room and sat him down. The interrogator sat down with 2 glasses of water. He pushed one onwards Ethan and said “Greetings pilot, my name is James. I’m here for 1 thing only, information, and I will get that information one way or another.” James proceeded to ask questions concerning the Militia’s operations in the area. Ethan said nothing in defiance of his captors. James finally tired of this and said “You know, I have other ways of extracting information. One of those is enhanced interrogation, or as you call it, torture.” Ethan looked at him and said “Do what you want to me, I’m not talking.” James grinned and beckoned to the nearby guards. The guards then escorted him to a room with a table. The guards strapped him down as a doctor and James walked in. James said to him “This is my friend Leopoldo, he will be doing the drugs for today.” Ethan asked “What do you mean by ‘drugs’?” James whispered to Leopoldo to “Show him the pain”. The man walked over and injected Ethan with something. Ethan instantly felt an enourmous pain starting in his arm and travel through his body. He screamed in pain as the serum ran through his veins to all outlets of his body. Leopoldo injected another serum which ceased the pain. “It’s time we do this my way, pilot. You answer my questions, you get to ease the pain. Refuse and another pain serum will be injected, is that clear?” Ethan stayed silent and didn’t respond. James then said “Good, let’s start, how many ships are in your current fleet in orbit?” Ethan stayed silent. James nodded at Leopoldo who then injected the serum into Ethan’s arm. Ethan felt the pain spread but stifled his cries. James repeated the question but to no avail. Another serum was injected into his arm. The pain doubled as Ethan started to cry in pain. James then said “Let’s move on, why did the Militia send some o it’s most elite pilots to attack a defensive line with little strategic value with you’re current plans?” He was right, the Militia had completely bypassed the line to take the capital. The line is only defending a peninsula with a few ports, nothing when compared to the capital. Ethan still stayed silent, his eyes watering. Leopoldo injected another serum. The pain became even worse, this time he couldn’t hold back the cries of pain. James grinned and repeated the question but got no response. Leopoldo injected 2 serums this time, making the pain so bad Ethan was screaming for minutes at a time due to the pain. He could no longer hear the questions, or even care. The pain was blocking out everything else. He slowly drifted into unconscious as the serums became too much. He didn’t care to try and fight it. It was a welcome feeling, nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism welcome


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fart in your general direction!

Over all the years Davis knew Ethan, he rarely failed a mission. Right now, he was 10 minutes late to extraction. He kept looking up hoping to see their stolen dropship land so they could get out of there. He looked over to Bear who was looking around as well. He could tell he was just as anxious. Droz yelled from the cockpit “See anything?” Davis shouted back “No, maybe they had to go on an errand on the way!” Droz chuckled to himself and turned back to the controls. Now 15 minutes had gone by and nothing. Bear walked over and said “If they’re not here in 5 minutes we have to leave.” Davis looked at him and asked “Why, not everyone can adhere to your schedule, especially not E.” Bear shook his head and replied “Its not my schedule, it’s command’s.” Davis just hoped they’d be here on time. Suddenly Davis’s radio came to life. He could here a conversation, but what was being said and by who? He tuned in the transmission and was able to make out what was being said “You are all under arrest, put down your weapons.” He notifies Bear who then said “Danmit, they’re comprised, we have to get outta here now.” He started towards the dropship. Davis crosses his path and said “You’re just going to abandon them?” Bear pushed him out of his way and replied “We can’t do anything for them Davis, they’re caught and they’ll probably be there. We can send help later right now we need to leave. Davis sighed, Bear was right, nothing could be done. Davis followed Bear into the dropship as Droz lifted it up into the air. Davis looked outside as the door closed, he just hoped they had a plan.

Gates has been taken out of the room and taken to another cell. She looked around the cell and saw the usual for an IMC prison cell except for 1 thing. There was a window into a darkened room. Suddenly the room flooded with a gas. Gates suddenly felt a wave of tiredness, she laid down on the bed before drifting to sleep. When she woke the adjacent room had been lit up. She then saw Ethan be dragged into the room and triad onto a panel facing the window. She pounded on the window and screamed “Let him go you bastards! Do it or I swear I’ll kill you myself!” She then saw 2 men enter the room, one had a lab coat while the other wore a sleek jacket and black pants. The one in the jacket introduced himself as James and the man in the lab coat as Leopoldo. He then said “Leopoldo and I recently tested his new pain serum on him,” he gestured to Ethan. “And it proved extremely successful, let me explain, 1 serum makes the entire body feel as if it’s on fire, a second doubles this pain, a third triples, and so on. Leopoldo also developed a counter serum which will nullify the pain. You answer my questions, his pain stops, you don’t, another is administered. If you don’t cooperate at all, I have authorization to terminate him so I encourage your full participation.” He then hooked Ethan up to a machine with a needle on it. Gates glared to him and muttered “You son of a bitch.” He smiled to himself and said “Let’s begin, Leopoldo, wake him up.” Leopoldo put something under Ethan’s nose and he suddenly jolted awake. His eyes met with Gates before he said “We’ll shit, Gates, I see they’re trying the ole torture the friend method. Gates, listen to me, don’t tell them anything you hear me? I’d rather die than compromise the mission.” James said “Well see about that. First question, how many shops do you have in orbit?” Gates stayed silent and continued to look into Ethan’s eyes. James then said “Fine, we’ll have it your way, Leopoldo.” Leopoldo walked over with a syringe and injected Ethan with the serum. Gates saw Ethan instantly clench up. Gates looked to him, then to James and said “Im going to kill you in the worst way possible.” James laughed and then replied “Just for that, the pain is now double.” Leopoldo again injected Ethan with the serum. Gates saw his eyes start to water as he clenched up even more. He was determined to give them the least satisfaction from this. James repeated the question and again Gates said nothing. Another serum. She saw Ethan start shaking as he started groaning in pain. James then asked “One last time, how many ships?” Gates looked at him and said “You can piss off, you’re not getting shit.” He grinned and said “As you wish, this is going to get ugly.” Leopoldo injected a fourth serum. Ethan instantly cried out in pain. He started shaking as the serum coursed through his body. His cries of pain became more frequent and louder. James glared and said quietly “How. Many.” Gates looked at Ethan and back at him and said “We have 10 ships, 10.” James smiles and said “There, was that so hard? Leo, counter serum please.” Gates look at Leopoldo, he was frowning as he injected the counter serum, he had obviously enjoyed the torture. James then asked “How many titans do you have in orbit?” Gates, going against her higher judgement told him”We have 20 per ship, or 200 in total.” James glances at Leopoldo who was visibly agitated that his serums were going unused. James looked at a clipboard and then inquired “Why did you attempt to destroy the Trebuchet line? It holds little to no tactical advantage as you’re currently focused on the capital, so why take down the hard points?” Gated knew telling him this would indefinitely compromise everything they had done so far. She then said “The line could be used as a staging point for a counter attack against the Militia, we had to tie the loose end at some point.” James frowned and said “Wrong answer, that is a half-truth. Leo, I’d like a triple serum after all, lying gets a more severe punishment than telling the truth. Gates saw Leopoldo light up as he injected three serums via the machine. Ethan again started convulsing and crying in pain. Gates then pounded on the window and said “You’re troops are withdrawing from other places to go behind the line, you might stage a counterattack.” James shook his head and once again said “Another lie, 2 serums, Leo.” Leopoldo then injected another 2 serums. Ethan’s body shook so violently that even Leopoldo took a step back. Ethan started screaming, begging for James to kill him. James then pulled out his Wingman and said “Last chance before I pull the trigger, why did you attack the line?” Gates teared up, she needed to save Ethan but she remained silent. James frowned and shot Ethan in the leg. Gates screamed and pounded on the window, she broke and told him “Its General Silas Grant, he’s in the area, we were going to break through the line to capture him.” This was only a half-truth however, their goal was to capture him and his research at the Sadric research facility deep behind the line as part of Operation Grizzly. General Grant was said to be researching time travel. James wrote this down and said “Good, that’s all I needed, Leo, take him to the medics, if he’s even alive. And bring him back to his cell if he is. Guard, take her back as well, we’ll see what The Warden wants to do with them.” Gates saw Ethan be taken down, he looked dead. She was taken back to a different cell with 2 beds. She sat in the ground processing everything. Then the door then opened again as a guard threw Ethan in. She noticed a bloodied bandage on his leg. Gates ran over to him and cradled him in her arms. He looked up and faintly said “Why, why did you tell them?” She looked at him and replied “I...I...” She sighed and continued “I couldn’t bear to see you like that, E.” He looked up and said “Well, I guess I should be happy to be alive I guess.” He pulled himself onto his bed and went to sleep. She laid down on her bed and looked up, hoping for something to happen, and get them out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you’re mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! Now go away before I taunt you a second time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bravely, bravely, bravely running away...
> 
> I love that movie

Davis looked outside the dropship window. He saw 12 ships, which was odd because there were only 10 when they had left. He asked Droz who said he didn’t know, Bear said the same. When they arrived Davis stepped out of the dropship. He heard a soldier yell “Attention!” He looked over and saw Sarah Briggs, commander of the Marauder Corps. She greeted the pilots and said “I heard about what happened, but I have a plan to get them out.” Davis looked at Bear who said “Really? Count us in then.” She replied “Follow me, I’ve already prepared a strike team.” They followed her to a holotable where a number of pilots and grunts were gathered. She walked over to one side and said “We have a plan to destroy the prison facility as I have already told most of you. We’ve found out that the power periodically cycles, this cycle happens once per week and only for 5 minutes. While the power cycles, the enemy orbital guns are disabled. We only found this out because one of our ships happened to jump in the wrong coordinates but was lucky enough to do it during a power cycle. The power will cycle again in 6 and a half days, we have until then to prepare, Major Anderson and I will lead the assault.” She turned off the table and waved everyone except the 6-4 off. She then said to them “You guys are gonna be deployed in your titans, but exit to extract the hostages.” Bear nodded and said “Thought I would have to ask myself.” Sarah chuckled and walked off. Davis looked at the time, 6 days until he had to prepare, time to make the most of it.

Gates woke up the next day, she was able to get a little sleep in. Throughout the night she couldn’t fall asleep for some reason. A small panel under the door opened up and a food tray slid underneath it. She then heard over the small speaker in the room “Well deliver his food once he wakes up. Role call is in an hour, we will let you out then.” She sat on her bed waiting. Finally the door opened up but Ethan wasn’t awake yet. She walked outside the door as the soldiers walked down the hallway taking roll call. They finally finished and she heard over the PA “All A-C prisoners are now allocated free time. D-G are to report to their jobs.” She looked at the jumpsuit she was wearing and saw the code Z-1. She heard Ethan stir and slowly sit up as he stretched and groaned. She asked “How you feeling?” He replied “Like shit.” She chuckled to herself and sat down on her bed and said “I don’t know what they have planned for us, but I guess we’ll see.” They waited for what felt like an eternity before 2 guards opened the door and pulled Gates out. They took her to a small room with a table. “Another interrogation?” She sighed and waited for the questions to start. The same happened for the next few days, food, interrogate, repeat. Something weird happened on the 6th day however a siren went off and all the lights shut off while red emergency lights started flashing. She heard on the PA “Warning, code Lima Bravo. All non-combat personnel are to head to a safe area immediately. Guards are to return the prisoners to their cells.” Then guards came into the room, grabbed her and brought her out “Well shit, here we go.” She thought to herself as she moved down the hallway, uncertain of what was to come

1 hour prior

Davis sat in his titan waiting to storm the base. He had been given a Tone-class titan a while back who was identified as BUK-8473 who he callled Buckshot. He and the rest of the 6-4 were waiting for the all clear to drop and storm the base. Finally he heard “Group 1 may drop, group 2 wait for all clear, over.” Davis was part of group 1. Sarah Briggs walked over in her titan and said “Standby for Titanfall.” Group 1 was then launched towards the ground. Davis would never get used to being in a titanfall. He hit the ground with a thud as the rest of the group landed. The comms came to life as the first shots were exchanged. “This is Anderson, we need to push their defenses and enter the prison, once there we will extract prisoners and retrieve information.” Davis pulled out the 40mm cannon and began advancing with the others. Enemy grunts and specters ran around returning fire. Davis said to Droz over the radio “Fat lot they’re doing.” Davis laughed and replied “You said it man!” They easily breached the gate with minimal casualties. “And the call this maximum security.” Davis scoffed. “We aren’t there yet, heads on a swivel.” Bear said. “You think we’re gonna get a titan fight?” Davis asked. Droz said “Probably considering this is a supermax prison complex.” As he said that Davis say two titans come out a blast door along with a multitude of specters and grunts, some armed with archers. Even a few pilots ran out firing their anti-titan weapons. Davis opened fire in the titans that emerged, an ion and northstar. They were easily dispatched with the combined fire but the pilots were a different matter. Davis fires a sonar pulse on a building revealing two pilots and five grunts hiding inside. He gave Droz a nudge who used his Scorch to burn them out before incinerating them. Group two began to drop and before long they’d formed a defensive perimeter around the entrance. A group of Militia operatives prepared to breach. The group included some elite grunts and even a few pilots. Davis hopes they could get everyone out of here alive.

Ethan was in his cell when the alarm went off. He was in the process of being taken into a solitary confinement cell when the guards were gunned down. Two pilots with cloak devices revealed themselves and took off the cuffs he was in. “Thanks.” Was all he got to say before they disappeared again. He ran to the room where they put his stuff, he had put it in the spies cabin but it was raided and they took it here. At least he knew where it was. “I swear to God if they messed with shit..” but before he could finish that thought he got to the room. His things were laid out accordingly and it eased the put on of his gear. He put his helmet on and Doc instantly greeted him. Pilot, it has been almost a week.” He started to make his way to the armory and replied “Yeah yeah I was in a bit of a pickle.” His titan agreed and lit up the way to the armory. Once there he was able to get his hands on a R-201 carbine. The PA was giving orders constantly, and he got an idea. “Hey Doc, light up the way to the generators. “The odds of you surviving the plan are 70-1.” He grabbed extra ammo and said “I don’t need you telling me the odds Doc.” His titan responded after a brief silence with “The generator has at least 100 guards and specters between you and it.” Ethan smiled and said “Good, it’ll be easy then.”

Gates was brought to a solitary cell. The guards radio was lit up with all kinds of chatter. The lead guard over the radio “Priority Target Alpha is in solitary, PT Bravo is nowhere to be seen, over.”

“Copy, keep Alpha at the ready, transit system is charging up.” The grunts waited for five minutes before taking her out and walking down the hall, took a left and bam, their heads were taken out by wingmans from two cloak pilots. The said “You need to go, it’s not safe, get to an exit, we need to help others.” She nodded, grabbed a 201, and ran.

Ethan slid down the vent into an open room in a cave, it had huge fans and vents all over. “We’re in temperature control.” Doc said. The PA crackled to life and the man said “Both Priority Targets have escaped, I want all security teams to find and recapture them immediately!” Ethan grappled across a chasm and said “I think we pissed them off.” Doc made a few chirps before responding “I don’t think I understand, pilot.” He smiled to himself as he kept going. He reached a door that had generator room labeled on a sign above. “Well that wasn’t too bad at all, I didn’t see a single soldier.” Doc said “Pilot, this links the vents to the generator, this is where the bulk of their forces are.” Ethan sighed and said “I stand corrected.” Doc scanned the area and revealed the locations on his HUD. Doc then inquired “Pilot, are you ready?” Ethan have a nod as the doors opened. Some grunts looked at the door, guns drawn. But no one was there. Ethan walked behind a grunt, knife drawn. He pointed a P2016 at another one. “Surprise.” He whispered into the grunts ear. He attempted to spin around but caught the knife in his neck. He grappled to the next group where he hacked the specters and killed the grunts. His dataknife was modified to not only be fast, but also effect all specters in a 10 meter radius. He kept moving towards the generator but was engaged by a patrol of five. He jumped onto the wall, kicked off it and landed his boot in a grunts face as the others were taken down by the specters. He used his grapple like a slingshot and flew into the next group. He dumped his mag killing three before grabbing a grunt and using him as a human shield. Ethan grabbed the grunts pistol and killed the remaining others. The grunt he held was already dead, courtesy of his fellow soldiers. As he ran down the hall he wall ran and then slid into a patrol of ten. He killed two with his rifle before dropping it and taking two down by their heads. He grabbed his knife and stabbed one as the others shot at him. Ethan was able to hide begind a console before holo and cloaking them, as they fired at his holo-self he stabbed one, snapped another’s neck and was about to kill the last one when a group came up behind him and shot, a bullet hit his left arm and leg. Ethan dove into cover and was able too shoot at the group. Doc had been offline to boost power on Ethan’s jump-kit and abilities such as the cloak, grapple, and holo-pilot. He was back online and said “Pilot, you have been hit, may I suggest a less dangerous battle plan?” Ethan reloaded his pistol and said “Not now Doc, we don’t have time.” He threw a frag before popping up and shutting the downed ones. He finished the last one off before moving towards the generator. His left thigh was on fire with pain. “Doc, what’s the situation with my leg, hurts like hell.” Doc seemed concerned as he replied “Longbow DMR round, internal bleeding minimal, medical care is advised as soon as possible.” Ethan nodded ever so slightly as he pushed forward. There was a last group of grunts along with a Pilot. Ethan chuckled and said “Good, a challenge.” He aimed his carbine at the grunts and killed four of them as the other two ran for cover. The pilot, an A-wall pilot deployed the orange wall and fired his R-97 at Ethan. He ducked behind cover as the shots came in. When the pilot ran out he sprang up shooting the two grunts with his rifle before landing next to the pilot. He threw a punch that was easily avoided, Ethan kicked the pilot back before grabbing his knife and attempting to stab them in the throat. They caught it and pushed Ethan back before pulling a wingman. He was able to get one shot off before Ethan plunged the knife into his throat, killing him. Ethan felt another pain, it nicked his shoulder, he was lucky. He entered the generator and grabbed a satchel charge off of the pilot. He planted them, closed the door, then detonated them. Doc reported that power was down all over the facility. Now all they had to do was get out.

Gates had just killed a guard when the power suddenly went out. She heard the auxiliary power kick on, the emergency lights flashed, but that was all. It would be enough to get out. She continued towards the exit. A small group of prisoners ran down the hall only to be gunned down. Spitfires, that sound was unmistakable. She ran and hid behind a barrel. She was able to just barely hear their conversation. “Targets terminated, reverting back to original task, over.” “This is command, priority is to find target Alpha, over.” The soldiers went back the way they came, she sprinted to the door. As she opened it she came to a large blast door. A group of Militia grunts we’re at the door, they pointed their weapons. One yelled “Identify yourself!” She held her hands in the air and yelled “I’m Commander Gates, put down your weapons.” The grunts lowered their weapons and radioed in that they had recovered Gates. She sighed, she hoped Ethan could make it out to.

“Attention, target Alpha has escaped the facility, all security teams are to locate target Bravo.” Ethan slumped down on a wall. “Doc, are you sure my leg is fine?” He was breathing heavily, his leg had not been kind. “Scanning, Pilot, you have moved the bullet around during your maneuvers, it has been causing mounting damage, I suggest you get medical care as soon as possible.” Ethan took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his brow, the injury was taxing on his energy. He stood up and put his helmet back on. “They’re coming for us Doc, let’s get moving.” Doc lit up a path to the exit, it was close at least. Ethan started limping down the hallway, pistol drawn. He wasn’t taking anymore chances. Halfway there he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around twisting a cloaked arm and aiming his pistol at the other. They revealed themselves to be the same pilots who rescued him earlier. Ethan let the one go and lowered his gun. They told him to move as fast as he could to the exit, a group of elite IMC agents were looking for him. They left just as they appeared, Ethan kept moving as fast as he could. He ran into one of these agents, luckily they didn’t see him coming. He dumped the last bullets from his pistol into the agents head, killing them instantly. He made it to the blast doors before collapsing to the ground. A group of grunts were able to drag him to a transport where other prisoners were waiting. He leaned back son his seat and closed his eyes. As the drop ship took off as he heard a voice say “A job well done, E.” He opened his eyes as Gates sat next to him. “He smiled to himself and said “Always a pleasure ma’am.” She put him into a one armed hug and whispered “Glad you made it out.” She got no response, he was fast asleep on her shoulder, from a job well done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The enemy of my enemy dies second!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The numbers on Titanfall 2 right now are insane!

Ethan took a deep breath as he sat back in his chair. Five days had passed since he got out of that godforsaken place. He had a surgery on his leg almost right after. The bullet caused quite a bit of damage and internal bleeding. They took out the bullet and sealed all the wounds, he’d live to fight another day. The meds told him to stay off the leg, at least for a few weeks. From what he heard though, the final assault was happening soon, and he sure as hell wasnt missing out on that. He looked at his helmet on the desk in his quarters. It fluttered to life as Doc started talking “Pilot, you seem to have something on your mind, I can feel it, mind telling me what it is?” Ethan sighed, he was careless during the escape. He never caught up with those two assholes who tried that serum. “Those two will most likely be at the main facility, we will get them soon pilot.” Ethan grabbed the RE-45 that was also sitting on the desk. He grabbed his tool kit and began disassembling the weapon. With all the parts laid out he began reassembling it. Ethan used to do it with old car parts and engines back when he was young, before the war. After he joined the IMC grunt corps, he never saw his family again, never had the chance. He hoped one day he would see them again. “Wishful thinking” he thought, his home planet was deep in IMC territory. Just then someone walked in through the door. “How’s the leg?” It was Gates. Ethan looked at her and said “Alright, the medics told me to stay off it for a few weeks.” Gates sat in his bed and replied “I don’t think you’ll be listening to them.” Ethan shrugged and said “Probably not, I mean with what I’ve heard I don’t think I would have the chance anyway.” She nodded and stood up. She made her way to the door but before walking out said “Take it easy until then.” before walking out. He would just have to ‘take it easy’ for a few days.

Scouting transcript-9884

S-1: Moving to the vantage point.

S-2: Copy, on your six.

S-1: Establishing visual with IMC forces in base.

S-2: Right behind you

S-3: I’ll watch our six, tell me if you see any fairies.

S-2: Shur the hell up Carter.

S-1: Cut the chatter, I’m trying to focus.

S-3: Sorry boss.

S-1: Damn, you seein this Sam?

S-2: Yeah, that’s a lot of titans.

S-3: How many?

S-2: 30 that I can see.

S-1: Those are just the patrols that are out.

S-2: See those big ass guns too?

S-1: Yeah, we’re gonna have one hell of a time gettin through there.

S-2: Should we get some photos then?

S-1: Yeah, were gonna need them

S-2 proceeds to take photos of base*

S-1: Alright lets exfil.

S-3: Copy, follow me.

End Transcript

Ethan finished reading the report. “Looks like they’re gonna need every man they can get.


	7. Chapter 7

“Pilot, our deployment is in 5 hours.” Doc had been counting down since 24. Ethan moved his RE-45 around in his hands. Only five more hours.

Ethan was part of Charlie, one of five teams. Each team was comprised of twenty titans. The main group, Alpha has thirty titans and a large supporting cast of infantry and vehicles. Alpha was the distraction while the other four teams would assault the gate. Once a perimeter could be set up, Texas would infiltrate the facility and capture General Grant and his research. A simple plan, but one that hopefully would be successful. 2 hours left...

Ethan met with the the rest of the 6-4. They were all part of different groups. “Good luck everyone, hope to see you back here soon.” Gates said. Everyone went their separate ways, but not before Gates stopped Ethan. She asked about his leg and he responded with a shrug before walking off. Ethan went to the deployment dock and grouped with his team. Most of the pilots were fresh ‘greenies’ as the more experienced soldiers called them. The group only had seven experienced pilots, Ethan included. Major Anderson was leading the group. “Alright pilots!”He shouted “Today’s your lucky day, were goin to assault a heavily fortified base.” Ethan could tell many of the greenies were nervous, but that was to be expected. “I can’t promise you’ll come back, what I can promise is one helluva fight! Load up!” With this everyone hopped into their titans. As soon as the cockpit closed Doc gave a brief greeting and a countdown until launch, he then said “Pilot, you seem to be stressed out, would you like to tell me what is wrong?” Ethan replied “Not now Doc, I’m not really in the mood.” Ten minutes...

Gates jumped into her Northstar. She had named it Nemisis or Ness for short. As soon as she jumped in her titan flared to life. Ness greeted Gates and transferred the controls to her. Gates took off her helmet and ran some fingers through her hair. She was worried about Ethan, his leg wasn’t ok, that was a certain. His group was also comprised of too many green pilots. She just hoped that they could get past the gate. Ness detected her worry and asked about it. Gates told Ness and put her helmet back on. Today was going to be a long day.

Ethan looked at the timer, one minute. He readied himself for the inevitable drop. Ten seconds. The doors below his titan opened up. Within seconds they were falling towards the planet. The clouds passed with a blur before the group made a landing. The titanfall had gone to plan, now for the rest. Major Anderson came on the comms. “Getting there’s half the fun, let’s go people, on me!” His titan started down a path towards the objective. The code words ‘Manila, sleeper, gimped’ was said over the radio, code words that the attack had started. Forward scouts reported that a large force of IMC soldiers, titans, and vehicles were in their way to the landing zone of the distraction force. So far the plan had worked perfectly. The titans entered a clearing when Doc’s sensors began to pick up movement on the far side. “Stop,” Ethan said over the comms “I got movement far side, could be nothing, but be cautious.” The other pilots acknowledged this, many drawing out their weapons that were holstered for the trek. The group got about halfway through the clearing before a plasma rail fun shot tore through one of the lead titans. “Ambush! Ambush!” As the group returned fire multiple legions stepped out of the trees. A northstar quickly followed suit firing as it moved. Ethan locked his acolyte pods which were modified to carry arc rockets along with the regular tracker rockets. As he released a salvo from his rocket pods he opened fire on the titans with his XO-16 chaingun. As the two groups engaged each other one friendly titan exploded. The combined firepower of the group was enough to take down two of the three legions. Leaving only one legion and a battered northstar left. As the groups continued to exchange fire the enemy northstar was destroyed. The last legion fired a power shot directly hitting one of the green pilot’s titan, destroying it. The last legion was brought down by the overwhelming firepower of the group. As soon as they were destroyed Anderson told everyone to keep moving, a smart choice. The enemies had likely called in backup to assist. If they stick around they could have been killed on the spot. As the now damaged group continued on the road one of the scout teams came into view. They told Anderson to disembark along with Ethan who was the most experienced out of them all. The scouts reported the enemy had at least six titans defending the gate along with two heavy turrets. Anderson looked at Ethan and said “Looks like we got our work cut out for us.” Ethan nodded and said “We’re already banged up, I just hope we have enough men to push through.” Anderson and Ethan then reembarked into their titans and continued on.

Delta group landed with a deafening thud. Ness stood up and drew her railgun. “Pilot, we need to move from the landing site if we are to complete the mission.” Gates gathered the group and began to lead them towards the complex. The code words came in and the fighting between Alpha and the responding IMC forces could be heard by Delta. The group marched towards the complex for a few hours. Nothing impeded their progress, no traps or ambushes, so far the plan had worked wonders. As Delta moved closer to the base a group of sxouts came out and beckoned her out. When she was out the scouts reported that all the gates had two heavy turrets and a few titans defending them. “We believe there are way more titans than initially thought, so be careful.” Gates thanked them and reembarked into her titan. The scouts wished them luck before disappearing back into the forest. They finally reached the gate, the scouts weren’t wrong, it was very heavily defended. “Waiting for your order ma’am.” one of the pilots said. “Copy, as soon as I engage you are clear to open fire.” Gates responded. She aimed her railgun at the nearest ion before pulling the trigger, striking it right on the cockpit. As the rest of the titans engaged Gates kept her distance, firing her missiles and plasma railgun. The heavy turrets were tearing through the titans though, she had to take those out first. “Flight Core ready.” Ness said. Gates activated it and began shelling the turrets disabling one and completely destroying the other. As her group mopped up the last ones they began to breach the gate. As the other gates were destroyed, it looked like the plan went without a hitch.

As soon as they engaged the gate, Ethan saw a problem. The heavy turrets were shredding titans while the enemy titans and infantry finished them off. As Ethan fires his chaingun at the enemy titans, another friendly titan went down. That made six friendliest down, and all of them were greenies. “Basilisk Core ready, Pilot.” Ethan fired it raining bullets and missiles down on the enemy titans. Major Anderson was in a fistfight with one of the titans. He ripped its arm off before pelting it with missiles. Ethan landed on a heavily damaged ion trying to crawl from the fight, destroying it immediately. The heavy turrets seemed to power down when an explosion rocked the complex. As the group breached the gate, they saw why. The power routers to the turrets were severed. The other groups had seen to that. The plan had worked and the facility walls were breached. Now all they needed was the prise inside. Ethan met up with Gates and discussed the soldiers entry. “The Spec-Ops are here, right?” Ethan asked. “Not yet, another five minutes and they should be.” Ethan have Gates a thumbs up. Gates then told him “You never did say how you’re leg was.” He replied “Oh, well it’s fine. I don’t see why you’re so worried about it.” Although she was wearing her helmet, he could almost see her roll her eyes. The Spec-Ops units arrived and began to set up around the various entrances to the facility. Ethan joined them, he had said he would. “Stacked sir, waiting for you’re command.” Another soldier tapped the one with the remote on the soldier and he breaxhed the door. “Alpha team make a sweep through A section. Bravo through B. Charlie go to C. Delta and the pilot are with me. We’re going to Special Research. Move it!” The other teams went separate ways while Ethan followed the commander. When they reached the area labeled ‘Special Research’ the lead man stopped everyone. “You guys ready?” he asked. The commander nodded and said “Ready when you are.” The soldier nodded and opened the door. They instantly came under fire from multiple IMC fireteams setting up at the entrance. The lead man along with another were killed while the rat ran for cover. Ethan slid behind a box firing his alternator killing two of the IMC soldiers. The Spec-Ops soldiers began to fire with their suppressed weapons, killing another three IMC soldiers. Ethan cloaked and went behind the remaining IMC soldiers. One was saying they should surrender while another told him to shut up. Ethan uncloaked and began to sparky the soldiers with bullets. One of them rushed him trying to hit Ethan with the butt of his rifle. He missed the swing and Ethan kicked him against the wall causing him to drop his gun. The soldier ran at Ethan going in for a punch. Ethan ducked under it and slammed the soldier’s head against the wall, killing him. The other soldiers moved up and dragged their fallen comrades to the wall. The commander and his group continued to move in until they got a fix on him, General Silas Grant. He leas the IRD or Interstellar Research Division. This group worked in close tandem with the secretive ARES Division. Ethan has only heard about it from stolen files. As the group ran for the General, something caught Ethan’s eye. There was a small room with a locked box behind a safe. “Doc, could you hack into the safe,” Doc began to work at it and after a minute he was able to get it open. “Pilot, this device is of unknown origin, I suggest you recover it for further research. It looked like a globe sort of thing with a circle of light on the top. Ethan put it in a pocket on his armor and moved on. As he walked out he saw the Spec-Ops team stopped in a room. As Ethan walked in he saw General Grant holding a gun to his head while the soldiers all pointed theirs at him. “General Grant, you are coming with us. Don’t make this hard for yourself.” The General looked around and pulled the hammer back on his old style revolver. He then suddenly pointed his gun at the soldiers when one of them fired. General Grant slumped against the wall. “What the fuck are you doing?” The soldier who fired stammered out a half response before being silenced by the commander. “Just get the research and get out of here.” he growled. Just then a cloaked IMC Pilot lunged at Ethan with a knife. Ethan barely deflected the attack and tackled the pilot to the ground. The two rolled around the floor for a bit before Ethan was able to work his RE-45 up to the pilots head and squeeze the trigger. Ethan sat back as the soldiers lowered their weapons. “Sorry sir, couldn’t get a good shot.” one of them said. Ethan waved it off and said “It’s fine, he’s dead either way.” The soldiers got the data and got out of the facility. Commander Sarah Briggs landed to personally congratulate everyone. Ethan stopped her before she left and gave her the strange device. “Try that thing out, it might be useful.” Ethan said. Sarah smiled and said “Will do. You did a fine job today pilot.” Ethan saluted and replied “All in a day’s work ma’am.” Sarah then boarded a transport and sped off. Ethan boarded a transport bound for the Talos Prime soon after, it was time to get off that rock.

Ethan began to pack his stuff in his quarters. Now that the operation was over, he would head back to Harmony for a while. Gates leaned against the wall, tapping her foot. “Are you sure you can’t just stay with the 6-4?” she asked. “Ethan closed his duffel bag and said “Sorry, but I’m headed for Harmony either way.” He stopped at the doorway and said “If you need me, you know how to contact me. I’ll send you my location on Harmony if you want to visit anytime.” She smiled and looked away. Ethan pulled her in and looked her in the eye. “Try and visit some time it’s a beau-.” Suddenly she pulled him in and his lips met hers. The kiss was short but it left it’s mark. Ethan drew back and smiled. The helmet that he held in his arm lit up as Doc said “Pilot, I understand this is an emotional moment for you, but I wouldn’t want you to miss your transport to Harmony.” Ethan put on his helmet and said “Until next time, Gates.” Before making his way to the hangar. In there he said goodbye to Davis, Droz, and Bear before loading the transport. Ethan hopes he would see them again, ‘eventually’ he thought, ‘eventually’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this arc is over. I’m thinking on doing a Christmasy thing next and then shoehorn Ethan into Titanfall 2 effectively making this garbage bag into an AU. Until next time, cheers!


	8. Christmas Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some Christmas fluff. I just want Ethan to be happy.

“-and today’s forecast, all across the Gabriel region on Harmony it seems that blizzards will last all day. Travel is discouraged but if you are, stay safe.” Ethan looked out his window, the forecast was correct, it was a huge blizzard starting up. He hoped that the others would be able to make it to his house, it wasn’t exactly close to any civilization. He put on a coat and walked outside. The air was crisp and cold, snowflakes twirled around in the air. He walked into the garage and grabbed some vegetables he had stored in the fridge. The meal he and his MRVN were preparing was going to be pretty large. Before he left he glanced at Doc’s empty chassis. He had shut him down until another job popped up. He dropped the bag in the kitchen. His MRVN pulled out a turkey, they had spent four hours making the thing. Ethan’s MRVN put it on the counter, making a chirping noise as it did. Ethan looked at it, it was perfect, MRVN had done a commendable job of making it. Ethan congratulated the MRVN on its job and it made a few whistle and chirping noises, but it seemed happy. Ethan began to cut the vegetables, he had two hours before they were scheduled to his house, but he doubted they’d get to the place anytime soon.

Ethan and his MRVN finally finished all the dishes. Ethan sat down in his living room by the fire, just to rest a little before the others arrived.

Ethan woke with a start to the sound of a doorbell being rung. Ethan sprang to the door and let everyone in. Bear shook his hand, in his other he held a bottle of whiskey. “I thought we could have this later.” Bear said. Ethan nodded and replied “We definitely will.” Davis walked up and shouted “E, my man! How you been?” Ethan grinned and said “Bored is all.” Davis chuckled and moved in further. Droz handed Ethan a present and said “Hey man, you deserve it.” Ethan patted him on the back as he continued into the house. Finally Gates walked in and threw Ethan into a hug. Ethan steppes back for a second before returning the embrace. She looked at him and said “You should really shave your stubble, it’s not very professional.” Ethan shook his head and said “Whatever ma’am.” They both walked into the kitchen where Ethan’s MRVN was already serving the others. They sat down and ate while talking about what happened in the last five months. The 6-4 had taken a mission defending a harvester on some backwater planet but apparently got a Ron of action. “You should have been there, Ethan.” Bear said. “Yeah, it was awesome!” Davis agreed. When they finished their meals they all began to drink like there was no tomorrow. They played tons of games, one of which was a game where you try to hit another person’s nail into a log, the last one standing won. They were all hammered when Bear decided to leave, he said something about being back to the barracks on time. He had always been a sucker for protocol. A few hours later Droz decided if it was best he left before anything bad happened. He dragged Davis along with him even though he put up a huge fight trying to stay. Ethan sat by the fire while Gates poured some wine for the two of them. She brought them over and sat on Ethan’s lap. The two spent a while just looking at the fire. Gates leaned back on Ethan and looked at him before blushing and quickly looking away. Ethan pulled her in, just to rest on his chest. As the fire slowly died out Gates fell asleep on Ethan’s chest. He simply sat there, hoping not to disturb her sleep. Eventually he fell asleep himself, ‘a fitting end,’ he thought to himself, he really couldn’t ask for a better Christmas. Just then Gates sat up before leaning back down on him. She stroked his hair in her hands. She whispered “You should just stay with us, E, it would be a lot simpler.” Ethan kisses her forehead and replied “Maybe, maybe.” He then went silent for a minute before saying “Next time you do a job, you can call me and I’ll be there.” She nodded and replied “I will ,E, I will.” She then snuggled up next to him and they both went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who read my stuff. Anyway I’ll see you all in 2020, the next decade! Cheers!


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCKIN HERETICS!- Some Inquisitor on narcotics

”New message received.” Ethan glances at his data pad. “Now who could that be?” He opened the message and read its contents.

Ethan,

It’s been a while, we’re on a mission, something big. Militia special operation, I thought you’d might like to come, it pays good enough. If you do meet us at Fort Vorenus in two days. Hope to see you there-Gates.

Ethan put down the data pad. He debated on whether to go or not. “Pilot, you have been out of action for three months, a new mission would be advisable.” Ethan sighed and for up, he’d better start packing.

Ethan has readied his gear and had Doc’s chassis transported to the base before leaving he turned to his MRVN. “Hey Marv, take care of the place will ya?” The MRVN saluted him and made a chirping noise. Ethan smiled and walked to his car, ready to depart.

He got there one day early, just in case. The 6-4 greeted him warmly and showed him to his spot on the ship. The ship was called the Concordia’s Fire. The ship itself was nothing different than the others, except all its weapons were removed in exchange for more carrying space. Once he was settled in his quarters Gates gave him a brief explanation of the mission. They were going to a planet called Typhon. Ethan had heard of it before, it was a IMC research planet. Last he heard the IMC presence on the planet was small, but perhaps that had changed. She then told him to come to the simulation training the in a few days before leaving. Ethan was intrigued by the mission, and wondered what on Typhon was so important they were sending the entire 9th Militia Fleet to the place.

The next day Ethan decided to go to the gym for awhile. He was in there for three hours. By the time he was done, he was tired. He walked back to his makeshift quarters, a small, empty room save for a cot. He showered and walked back into his quarters. Ethan sat down on the cot. He picked up his knife and twirled it around in his fingers. He had had it since his enrollment with the IMC infantry. When he was younger, he joined the IMC military as a field medic. His father had always wanted him to be a doctor, but when he learned Ethan had enrolled, he was furious. He refused to even say goodbye to his son before he was deployed. Of course this didn’t keep him from fighting. He even was selected for pilot training by a guy by the name of Jackson, or Jackie as Ethan Calle shim. The guy was by the books, but trained Ethan well. He was real proud when Ethan graduated and earned his pilot certification. Being left on that planet made it all the worse. He had gone on a few missions with a crew known as the Beastwalkers. Ethan was the ‘New Blood’ and was taken under the wing of a pilot named Alex ‘Wild’ Matcha. He was a veteran of the Beastwalkers, and a skilled pilot. Ethan has to prove himself to them, and that he did, even impressing some of the older members. The mission to the planet of Corvus Minor. It was a small, backwater world in the Outlands. The Beastwalkers were deployed there to investigate the disappearance of a small IMC harvester base. As soon as they moved in, they were ambushed by a small band of rebels. They were dispatched with ease. High Command then ordered them to burn multiple nearby villages and slaughter all the civilians, just to ‘show them a message’. Ethan didn’t partake in the burnings, but could only watch as the others purged the villages. It was made all the worse when they were left by the fleet. Militia groups began to take out the Beastwalkers, one by one. Ethan eventually defected to the Militia. At first seeing it as an opportunity to get off the planet, but staying seeing the reasons they fought. He fought for the Militia for a while, and eventually being recruited to the relatively new group known as the 6-4. Although he didn’t know it at the time, these people would be his best friends, his new family. He always kept the knife, as a reminder of his old life. He also kept one more thing, his mother gave him a small medal with their family name engraved into it. She had given it to him the day before he was deployed. He always carried it with him, this way his mother was always with him, one way or another.

The next day was mostly spent sleeping. Ethan didn’t know when he would next get the chance. He reviewed the orders sent to him. Land, fight to the rendezvous, then what? The orders never specified what would happen after the rendezvous. He assumed they would probably get new instructions once there. Ethan decided to sleep a little more, just in case.

Ethan decided to go to the training the next day. He put on his combat gear and grabbed all of his weapons and ammo, they were getting close to Typhon. The training had been delayed due to technical issues, but now they were doing it right before the mission. He and the 6-4 would be facing another group of pilots, with Sarah Briggs herself leading them. “Hey E, you think you’re ready?” Davis asked. Ethan laughed and said “I’m always ready for a fight.” Bear chimed in saying “I’m pretty sure ready is his middle name.” Davis then hollered at one of the opposing pilots who was entering his sim-pod. “Hey! Good luck, you poor bastards are gonna get destroyed!” The pilot responded by flipping Davis the bird and shouting “Oi you fuckin cunt, you assholes are gonna get gutted like a fuckin fish!” Droz pushed Davis away from the other pilot. Ethan then entered his sim-pod and booted it up, calibrating the controls to his liking. An announcer finally spoke saying “The March will start in Tminus ten seconds.” Ethan then say the green lights scanning him, as usual with sim-pods before being thrust into a rainy, war torn city. He used his grapple to slingshot down a street. Drop pods fell from the sky, deploying grunts and specters. (Spectres?) Ethan encountered an enemy stim pilot sprinting down the road. He fired on him with his Alternator, grazing the pilot. They ducked behind cover and returned fire with a Spitfire LMG. “Of fuckin course.” Ethan muttered to himself. The Spitfire was infamous for its accuracy and power. Ethan used his cloak to sneak behind the pilot. The pilot was unaware and kept watching the car Ethan was behind. Ethan grabbed his knife out of its sheath. He then kicked the pilot’s back, stunning them briefly. Ethan lunges at them with his knife and stabbed it right in the ‘face’ (if you could call it a face). Ethan immediately came under fire by a squad of grunts who were holding behind an overturned bus. Ethan pulled a grenade and started to cook it before throwing it behind the bus. Boom, he had timed it perfectly to explode as soon as it rolled behind the bus. He then grappled inside a building. He ran through cunning down two pilots before jumping out a window. He saw Bear take out a squad of grunts in a brutish fashion. The name ‘Bear’ didn’t come from nowhere. He then received a message in his helmet. Titan is ready, awaiting your order. He called Doc in on a group of spectres and grunts holed up on an intersection. Doc landed in the middle sending most flying and the others scrambling away. The survivors were dispatched with ease. He climbed into Doc and sat in the seat. Doc then transferred controls to Ethan. “Pilot, multiple enemy titans, 200m NE. Ethan then started to move towards those titans, he wanted some action.

Ethan was able to flank the titans, coming in right behind them. They were already locked in combat with another titan down the street. Ethan fired a barrage of missiles at one of the titans, alerting them to his presence. One turned around, a Tone class titan, and began to fire at Ethan. He activated Doc’s vortex shield catching the projectiles and sending them back at the Tone. He laid into the Tone sending it into the doomed state. He then ran up and ripped the enemy pilot right out of the cockpit before squishing them in Doc’s hand. He turned to the other titan only to see it was already destroyed, courtesy of the friendly titan down the road. “Thanks for the assist sir, we’ve almost won this thing.” Ethan checked the score, the pilot was right, they had almost won the battle. He saw three more titanfalls in the distance, smirking he made his way towards them.

He engaged the three titans. They were comprised of two Ions and a Northstar. “Pilot, you are outnumbered three to one.” Ethan fired a barrage of rockets and activated his vortex shield. The rockets connected with their targets, but the enemies began to return fire. Ethan caught a Northstar shot in his shield and sent it back, hitting the it. One of the Ions fired a laser shot, connecting with Doc’s chassis. Ethan dashed behind a building and began to fire his XO-16 chain gun. “Pilot, Basilisk core ready to activate.” Doc said. Ethan nodded and activated the core. He fired his missiles and XO-16 as Doc’s thrusters hovered him in the air. Both Ions were destroyed leaving only the heavily damaged Northstar left. “Oi mate, let’s do this the old fashioned way, fists only.” the Northstar’s Pilot said. Ethan replied with a fist thrown into the Northstar’s chassis. The Northstar stumbled before lunging at a Ethan. Ethan dashed to the side and slammed the Northstar into the side of a building. He then opened the enemy cockpit, revealing the pilot inside. He then opened his own cockpit and dropped a grenade inside the Northstar. He then slammed the enemy cockpit shut and watched the hatch receive a large dent. The Northstar then fell over, crashing to the ground.

Suddenly he was pulled from the simulation. “Warning, all personnel, we have entered Typhon’s gravity field. Prepare for deployment. All soldiers report to your designated drop ship immediately.” Ethan stepped out and ran to the deployment rack where Doc was located. He climbed in and took a deep breath. “Pilot, are you ready to deploy?” Ethan sat back before saying “I guess I’m ready, what we’re we doing again?” Doc replied “We are to land at Site-Telluride, once there we will move to the rendezvous point to meet up with Major Anderson. I believe we will receive new orders once there. “Well, I guess that’s the plan the-“ suddenly the ship shook. “Attention all personnel, we are under heavy fire from enemy defenses. Prepare for possible premature deployment.” Ethan cursed under his breath, ‘wasn’t there supposed to be little to no defense here?’ A violent rumble overtook the ship as the lights turned red. “Attention all hands, we are going down, repeat going down. All personnel report to the lifeboats immediately!” Ethan sat up and said “Fuck, what about Gates, and the rest of them. He attempted to get out of Doc before being stopped. Doc said “Pilot, I cannot let you leave, we are scheduled to drop in five minutes. Ethan then attempted to kick the hatch open to no avail. “The ship is going down, the schedule is fucked!” Ethan yelled before sitting back in his seat. Doc then said “Pilot, I understand you have deep care for the rest of the 6-4, but my directives keep me from letting you leave.” Ethan leaned back and took off his helmet. He began to rub his temples, ‘could this clusterfuck get any worse?’ Suddenly he was propelled towards the planet. ‘I probably shouldn’t have tempted fate.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My posting schedule is about as reliable as the Onion News Network.
> 
> Seriously though, I neglect this too much.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know it’s just occurred to me that the chapters don’t line up.

”W-W-W-W-Warning. Mult-t-t-t-t-tiple enemy titans imb-b-b-bound.” Ethan groaned and sat up. “Fuck” he thought, this was bad. “Doc, give me a status report, what’s the damage?” Doc sent an image of his chassis to Ethan’s HUD. It seemed that Doc’s left arm was severely damaged. Luckily most of his critical operating systems were still functioning. “Doc, activate optics and see if you can stand.” Doc activated the optics, they were revealed to be in a canyon, with debris spread all around. “I will t-t-t-transfer the controls to you pilot, I cannot operate on my own. Ethan took control of Doc and tried to stand up. He was able to stand up, but could do no more, Doc’s systems were heavily damaged. “A battery is required to f-f-f-function properly, an emergency battery is st-t-tored on an outside compartm-m-m-ment, you must be swift if you are to retrieve it, a group of hostiles are inbound and will a-a-arrive soon.” Ethan jumped out and ran to the side compartment where the battery was stored. It was there, but slightly damaged due to the impact. He ejected a depleted battery and inserted the backup. Doc took a step forward successfully and without stumbling. He then took his XO-16 from his back and opened the cockpit. “DO-2837 ready for duty, operating at 50% capacity.” Ethan climbed in and readied his weapon. He could only use one arm to fire the gun which would severely decrease his accuracy. His Vortex shield only had half the charge it usually did. Luckily his Acolytes were I damaged and operated at full capacity. His thrusters also were slightly damaged, but not enough to impede flight. Ethan prepared himself, this would be a challenge for sure. A Tone titan emerged from an opening in the canyon. Ethan opened fire with the chain gun, with many of the shots missing. The Tone activated its shield and began to fire back with its 40mm. Ethan took three hits from the Tone causing it to get a lock-on and fire a barrage of missiles. Ethan used what little power the Vortex shield had and sent them back along with firing his acolyte pods. The barrage of rockets severely damaged the Tone, sending it reeling back. Ethan used this to leap at the titan and knock away its weapon. He slammed the titan into the canyon wall, damaging it further. Ethan then leaped our of his titan and climbed on top of the enemy Tone. He was able to take a battery from it before dropping a grenade into the slot. He leapt back into Doc inserting the fresh battery. The Tone’s pilot attempted to jump out but was too late and was caught in the explosion of the grenade. Ethan turned around finding a Ronin and Legion staring him down. The Ronin instantly phase dashed toward Ethan, sword at the ready. The Legion simultaneously spun up its Predator cannon and began laying into Ethan. Ethan caught the bullets fired by the Legion in his now fully charged Vortex shield, courtesy to the battery he just got. He sent the projectiles back causing the Legion to stumble. Before he could react the Ronin reappeared behind Ethan bringing its sword down hard. It hit Doc’s main chassis causing damage and breaking whatever shield was remaining. Ethan fired a barrage of missiles at the Ronin but most were blocked by its sword. The Ronin continued to swing its sword at Ethan, causing more damage. The Legion began to fire again and Ethan attempted to catch the bull its once again. The sustained fire from the Legion and the merciless swings from the sword cut Ethan down. Doc fell to the ground, now motionless, lying in the doomed state. The Ronin stood over him, preparing for the last strike. As it raised its sword, ready to finish the fight, a barrage of missiles hit the Ronin, causing it to phase away. A Vanguard titans jumped down from a ledge, firing with an XO-16 at the Legion. The Legion attempted to return fire but its gun was batted away, leaving it defenseless. The Vanguard then fired one more salvo at the Legion destroying it where it stood. The Ronin re-emerged from the phase, Sword Core activated. The Vanguard parried the swings made by the Ronin and started to fire at it. The Ronin swung furiously, but to its surprise the Vanguard fires a salvo of rockets, severing the titan’s arm and commandeered the sword for itself. The Vanguard swung the sword connecting with the Ronin and sending it reeling back. The Ronin tried to regain its balance but was too late, the Vanguard sweeper its legs and stuck the sword through the cockpit, ending the Ronin. The Vanguard walked over to Ethan and a pilot jumped out. Ethan exited his titan too, jumping to meet the pilot. “Thanks, you just saved my life.” The pilot nodded and replied “It was unfair anyway, by how your titan looked, it seems you were already pretty ruffed up.” Ethan glances back then said “Yeah, although I’m not sure, I think we may have hit one of the ledges on the way down.” The pilot stuck his hand out and said “The names Tai, Tai Lastimosa.” Ethan shook his hand and replied “Ethan.” Tai nodded and gave him a battery. “Take this, it’ll help you get back on your feet. You need to try and meet up with some Militia soldiers and get back to a repair bay.” Ethan took the battery and asked “We still have ships? I thought the fleet was done for.” Tai shook his head and said “We did lose a chunk of the fleet, but there are still ships up there.” Ethan ran over to Doc and inserted the battery. Tai then leaped back into his titan and said “I need to go, there is a platoon of riflemen nearby that I need to help. You rendezvous with some troops and get back to space, alright?” Ethan gave him a salute and said “Will do sir, see you space side.” Tai dashed off as Doc began to reboot his critical systems. “Nanobots deployed, they will repair my left arm yo a functioning state.” Ethan sat down in the cockpit and took off his helmet. “How long is this gonna take?” he inquired. “Five minutes.” Ethan ran his hand through his hair, he had been lucky. He would’ve died then and there if it wasn’t for Tai, he owed the man big time. “System reboot complete, left arm is now functioning.” Ethan out his helmet back on. “Alrighty then, let’s get moving.” Doc set a waypoint and said “This is the designated rendezvous point. However, due to the situation, we should try to get off world and to a repair bay as soon as possible.” Ethan responded with a nod and began moving towards the rendezvous. He hoped that they would meet up with a group of survivors along the way and get off the planet. “Warning, Apex Predators detected nearby, we must proceed with caution.” Apex Predators, huh? They really are sending in the big guns. Ethan drew the XO-16 out and prepare himself, if they were to find a predator, it would be a tough fight. Considering the state Doc was in, it would be even harder, Ethan just hoped that they never came across him. “Pilot, there is a nearby waste treatment plant, it is heavily guarded and I advise we try to avoid it entirely.” Ethan looked at the map, it was a pretty large place, going around it would take time. “I’m trusting you on this one Doc, we’re headed around.” Doc began charting a course and they set off, around the plant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll try to get the next one out sometime in March


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if I mentioned this but the “Basilisk core” is just a mix between a burst and flight core.

The path they took was a long one. It probably would have been quicker to go through it, but they had made their choice. Ethan periodically heard distress calls over the radio. They couldn’t help any of them, they were all to far. Doc had decrypted some of the IMC radio chatter and heard that a Vanguard was running rampant in the reformation facility, by the time they reached the other side they would be long gone though.

“Pilot, we have made it to the other side of the facility. I detect a shortcut to the rendezvous point, through an IMC underground base.” Ethan sat up on his chair, it would be risky. “Through the base? That seems pretty dangerous.” Doc pulled up a small display that detailed the route. “It would be more efficient to go through, unless you would like to go around again.” Ethan sighed and agreed, it would be faster. “I’ll trust you on this one, but if it screws up...” Doc began to move towards the route. “Don’t worry, I have done the math.” They dropped down into a small cave and proceeded forward, there were bodies everywhere. “Pilot, it seems if another titan has already passed through here.” Ethan got out and checked around, not a single living IMC. He hopped back in and said “Let’s keep going, maybe we can meet up with them.” They continues down a corridor before coming upon a large, open area. There were destroyed titans and infantry everywhere. There was also an assortment of cleanup crews and titans around. As soon as they saw Ethan, they opened fire. Ethan caught the projectiles in his vortex shield and took out a large chunk the infantry. He fired a salvo of rockets at the titans while simultaneously firing the XO-16. One of the titans went down from the rocket salvo while another was set into a doomed state. The titans rushed at Ethan, dashing to close the gap. Ethan knee what they were doing and backed away. The titan activated a nuclear eject and kept running forward. Ethan dashed behind a large pillar, shielding him from the blast. The enemy pilot landed and tried to run, but Ethan had a missile locked on him already. As the pilot exploded in the air a salvo of rockets from a Brute class titan hit Doc’s chassis. Ethan fires his XO-16 and sent his remaining rockets at the enemy titan. It was sent into a doomed state and stumbled backwards. Ethan used this opportunity to close the gap and rip off the hatch. The pilot inside tried to jump away but was caught by Doc’s hand. The pilot squirmed and tried to break free but to no avail. Ethan three the pilot on the ground with enough force to completely splatter them on the floor. Ethan saw a large set of blast doors and continued down the way. A large clamp suddenly grabbed Doc and lifted him up. “Warning, unauthorized titan acces.” Ethan fired everything he had at the clamp but to no avail, they were stuck. The clamp began to take them through the facility. They passed by many platforms before being spit out near a large set of prefabricated houses. “Warning, facility self-destruct activated. All personnel report to the nearest exit immediately.” Ethan began to look for a way out. “Shit, they’re scuttling this place Doc.” Ethan saw a corridor and ran down it. A group of robotic infantry jumped out of the walls. They were different from spectres, bigger and more armored. He had never seen anything like them. “Doc! What the hell are these?” Ethan asked while gunning them down. “Scanning, it seems they are a new robotic infantry design known as ‘Stalkers’. They are heavily armored and have a power source on their backs that will explode with enough damage to them.” They kept moving and came across a large test chamber with a hole blown through it. Debris fell from the ceiling of the facility, their only chance was through there. Prowlers were running about killing anyone caught inside the chamber. Ethan dispatched of them with the Acolyte launcher. A group of three titans entered the chamber, two Tones and a Northstar. Ethan began to shoot at one of the Tone titans while dashing behind a portion of the caved in ceiling. The enemy titans returned fire and moved to cover. One of the Tone titans pushed forward and fired its 40mm cannon. A few rounds hit Doc and a missile barrage hit him, causing Ethan’s shield to break. Ethan fires a barrage of his own acolytes, these severely damaged the enemy titan. The Northstar fired a shot, connecting with Doc’s chassis. The blow sent Ethan stumbling back, but he was able to recover. “Basilisk code ready.” Doc reported.” Ethan activated it and destroyed both Tone titans while heavily damaging the Northstar. He landed next to it and sweeper out it’s legs before firing a salvo into the cockpit of the titan, destroying it. “All enemy titans down. I detect an opening up ahead, we can exit there.” The pair was able to exit via a ramp and outside. Ethan sat up a little “That’s that, really wasn’t all that quick now was it.” Doc seemed to be concentrated on something else. “Hey ,Doc, what is it? Ethan inquired. “I am detecting a radio signal from a nearby IMC interstellar beacon. It seems some riflemen are holed up there.” Ethan checked his map, it was a decent ways away. “Let’s go there then.” Doc interjected “The rendezvous with Major Anderson is at a different location. We must uphold Protocal 2.” Ethan shook his head and said “No, we can’t. Anderson is probably dead. Our best bet is to meet up with those riflemen and see if we can contact anyone in the fleet, if there’s one left.” Ethan could feel Doc calculating everything, it was hard for him to go against programming. “Very well ,Pilot. We will go for the beacon, let us depart now, we have a long journey ahead. The beacon is located in the nearby mountains. The trip will take us hours, perhaps even days if the conditions are bad, we must move swiftly.” Ethan have controls to Doc and said one but one thing, “Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe out there. I hope to update this by next month or sooner hopefully. Anyway, I won’t take up any more of your time.


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe

Ethan slouched in his seat; they had been walking for awhile now. They traveled along an old service road that lead to the mountains. It had not been used in a long time made obvious by the multitude of abandoned vehicles and overgrown containers. “Pilot, we will soon be exiting this road and travel a supply road. We must be ready to engage any IMC we come across. If you have changed your mind, we can still cut across to the rendezvous point with Major Anderson.” Ethan considered the option; it was the main mission. “No, we get to the relay and try to contact the fleet. I’m pretty sure the mission is screwed anyways, if we can regroup with the fleet then maybe we can still complete whatever the main goal is.” Doc didn’t like the idea of abandoning the mission, it was against his programming. “Very well ,pilot,” Doc stated, “we will advance to the relay.”

They finally came upon the supply road. It was, by comparison, much more well traveled and not so overgrown by the planet’s flora. “Pilot, I am detecting a small IMC transport convoy up ahead. It is protected by a single titan.” Ethan took manual control and asked “What kind of titan?” Doc identified it as a Northstar chassis with the armament of a Brute. Brutes had rocket launchers, rocket pods, a vortex shield, and utilized a flight core. They were repurposed Northstar chassis so it wouldn’t take much to destroy it. Ethan ran up behind the convoy locking onto and firing a salvo of rockets at the escorting infantry. The brute swung around and began to fire its rockets. Ethan caught them and sent them back. The brute dashed and dodged the rockets. Ethan fires his XO-16 at the titan dealing a decent amount of damage. The brute had locked its acolyte pods and fired a salvo which was caught in Doc’s vortex shield. Ethan fired his own salvo striking and stunning the brute. Ethan had installed arc rockets in Doc as to gain an edge in combat. With it stunned Ethan unloaded what remained in the XO-16 while rapidly advancing on the titan. He grabbed the brute’s arm, tearing it off. Using Doc’s other arm he pried open the cockpit revealing the pilot. The pilot attempted to jump out but was crushed by Doc’s hand. Ethan began to mop up the remaining infantry with relative ease. “Pilot, we are now about halfway to the relay. The remainder of the journey will require us to scale some of the mountains in order to reach a separate path that will lead to the relay.” Ethan sighed and said “Great, more walking.”

“Pilot, I detect an anomaly at the relay, it seems it is already being activated.” Ethan is was taken aback by this, was there already militia forces there, is it the IMC? “Pilot, the activation sequence was a failure, it seems one of the components in the dish has been damaged. I advise we continue with utmost haste.” Ethan put on his helmet and said “Agreed, let’s move as fast as possible.” They found a path Doc said would lead to the relay and began to travel it. “Pilot, I have decrypted parts of IMC chatter from the area, it seems there is Militia forces attempting to use the beacon.” Ethan perked up, good to know someone else is alive. “Indeed it is, however it seems that a component within the dish has been damaged and must be replaced, hopefully they can repair it before IMC forces arrive.” Doc was right, if they didn’t move the Militia at the beacon could be overrun, and he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“This is BT-7274 to the 9th Militia fleet,” the signal was broadcasting. “I’ll be damned, they did it.” Ethan remarked. “Affirmative, we are nearly there. It seems the remnants of the 9th fleet are regrouping at the beacon, we can meet with them.” Guess we aren’t entirely fucked.

They arrived an hour later. The beacon had swarms of Militia troops moving around. Ethan saw Commander Briggs talking to another pilot in a titan labeled BT-7274, the titan that saved him back at the crash site. Ethan jumped out of Doc to speak to Commander Briggs. “Commander Briggs!” he called out. “Ethan! Nice of you to show up.” Briggs responded. “Who was that you were talking to?” Ethan asked, he hadn’t seen Lastimosa in the cockpit. “That’s Cooper, he was given BT when Tai was KIA.” Ethan shook his head, “Tai saved my ass back when I crashed. Speaking of which have you heard from the 6-4 at all?” Briggs smiled and pointed at one of the ships, “In the Ventura’s Mask. They had asked about you actually. But I needed to ask you something, we found what we’re looking for, a weapon that can destroy entire planets. It’s power source is at an airbase waiting to be transferred to the Ark. I need you to come with me for the main assault.” Ethan shrugged and agreed, it was the least he could do. “A transport will be here in an hour, do whatever you need until then.” Ethan jumped back into Doc and sat down, he was tired. “Hey Doc, let’s go talk to BT-7274, thank him for saving us, it’s the least we could do.” Doc strided over time BT, his Pilot was sitting in the cockpit. “Hey pilot, my name is Ethan, your titan saved our asses today.” The pilot gave a thumbs up and said “I’m happy he did.” Ethan asked what his name was, he said he was Cooper, Jack Cooper. He was a rifleman before getting a field promotion to pilot, a pretty large step. “I heard you’re with the main assault group for the airbase, I happen to be in it too.” Ethan nodded slightly and said “Yeah, I guess I’ll see what you can do then, and BT-7272, I’m sorry about Lastimosa, he seemed like a good man.” BT gave a quick thumbs up, a show of gratitude Ethan supposed. With that Ethan walked away, he needed to call someone.

“Don’t get yourself killed, you’ve come too far for that.” Droz was still the same at least. “Hey, we’ll meet you after the battle!” Davis shouted in the background. “Yeah whatever guys,” Ethan replied, “I’ll see you guys around.” Ethan cut the call, they seemed pretty optimistic considering what happened. He called Gates last, “Hey, you doing okay?” Gates sighed and replied with a weak “Yep” Ethan was a little worried “You sure you’re all right? You seem a little down.” Gates inhales and said “I’m tired, I’ve been worried about you, the fleet is in shambles, and the we barely made it out of the extraction zone when we got rescued, stressed out is all.” Ethan rubbed his temples “I’m sorry about that, but I need to go, briefing is in five.” hopefully the plan would work this time. “All right, see you later, good luck, and please don’t get killed. I’ll see you later.” Ethan swallowed and said “I love you.” he swore he could see her smile as she replied “I know you do.” The call ended and Ethan headed to the bridge for the briefing. “Alright people listen up.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry for all the walls of text


End file.
